Child&#39;s seat for motor vehicles

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a child seat ( 10 ) for motor vehicles, comprising a seat ( 12 ), a backrest ( 14 ) and a head rest ( 22 ). The head rest ( 22 ) has two side cheeks ( 28 ) and a central part ( 30 ) connecting both side cheeks. The head rest ( 22 ) is fitted on the backrest ( 14 ) and is height-adjustable. The central part of the head rest ( 22 ) covers only the back part ( 4 ) of the backrest ( 14 ). The backrest ( 14 ) has a guiding device along which the height of the head rest ( 22 ) can be adjusted.

The invention concerns a child's seat for motor vehicles, having a seatportion, a backrest and a head support which has two side supportportions and a central portion connecting the two side support portionsand which is disposed adjustably in respect of height on the backrest,wherein on the outside the backrest has a guide device, along which thehead support is guided adjustably in respect of height.

A child's seat is known from DE 295 10 642 U1, in which the backrest isprovided with an opening intended for the insertion of a bar-likeconnecting member. The connecting member extends downwardly away fromthe central portion of the head support. The opening in the backrestmeans that it is mechanically weakened, which represents a disadvantagein this respect. In such a child's seat the seat portion, the backrestand the head support are usually covered with a decorative cover. Theconnecting member which extends downwardly away from the central portionof the head support is usually not covered by the above-mentioned coverso that, when the head support is raised up out of the backrest, theconnecting member becomes visible, in such a way as to spoil the seat.In addition the strength of the mechanical connection between thebackrest and the head support is reduced when the head support is movedout of the backrest because the depth of insertion of the bar-likeconnecting member which projects downwardly from the head support, inrelation to the backrest, is correspondingly reduced when the headsupport is displaced out of the backrest.

A similar child's seat to that described above is also known for examplefrom EP 0 326 265 A2. In that known child's seat the head support isconnected adjustably in respect of height to the backrest for example bymeans of two connecting elements which are curved in the shape of awalking stick, similarly to the head support of a vehicle seat.

DE 42 04 232 C2 discloses a child's seat for motor vehicles, having abackrest with a head support which is adjustable in respect of height(see FIG. 17). This known child's seat also suffers from thedisadvantage that, when a head support is set correspondingly high, aregion which is without any cover remains between the head support andthe backrest, and that is considered to spoil the effect. In addition,in this case also the mechanical strength of the connection between thehead support and the backrest is reduced when the head support iscorrespondingly adjusted high, and that represents a furtherdisadvantage.

A child's seat of the kind set forth in the opening part of thisspecification is known from GB 2 296 655 A. The backrest of that knownchild's seat is divided into two portions, namely an upper portion and alower portion. At each of its two mutually remote side edges the lowerportion is provided with a respective guide channel. The upper backrestportion is formed at the top side with the head support from which twoside support portions project forwardly. Mutually spaced lateralbackrest side supports project downwardly from the upper backrestportion. The backrest side supports project into the guide channels sothat the upper backrest portion with the head support integrallyconnected thereto is adjustable in respect of height in relation to thelower backrest portion. In that known child's seat the backrest sidesupports are connected together only at the top side—and not along theguide portion—, which has a corresponding effect on the guidanceproperties and the strength and stability involved.

The object of the present invention is to provide a child's seat of thekind set forth in the opening part of this specification, in which thecover covers the child's seat, irrespective of the respective heightwisesetting of the head support, in which the mechanical strength isindependent of the respective heightwise setting of the head support andin which the head support is adjustable as desired in respect of height,using simple means.

In the case of a child's seat of the kind set forth in the opening partof this specification, that object is attained in accordance with theinvention in that the head support extends with its central portion overthe rear of the backrest, and that the head support has two mutuallyspaced clamping members which, adapted to the guide device for thebackrest, are disposed in the transitional region between the centralportion and the respective side support portion at the front side of thehead support.

In the child's seat according to the invention therefore the headsupport does not project beyond the backrest in the direction of itsheight so that the mechanical strength is determined by the backrestitself. As the head support extends over the backrest with its centralportion at the rear, it is advantageously possible for the child's seatto be provided with a decorative cover which covers the backrest on thefront side. The head support can also be provided with a cover whichextends over the two side support portions of the head support and thebackrest at the front side thereof. Irrespective of the respectivesetting in respect of height of the head support relative to thebackrest, the child's seat according to the invention therefore avoids acover-free region, as is inevitable in the case of the known child'sseats of the above-indicated kind.

The guide device of the backrest can be simply formed by the twomutually remote side edges of the backrest, but it is also possible forthe backrest at its front side to be provided along its two side edgeswith a respective guide groove or channel which, forming the guidedevice, extend in mutually parallel relationship and into which theclamping members of the head support engage in positively lockingrelationship. In this case the clamping members are adapted in shape tothe guide device of the backrest in such a way that the head support isadjustable in respect of height on the backrest with the application ofa small amount of force and in a play-free manner. The guide channelscan be provided on the backrest directly and immediately, but it will beappreciated that it is also possible for the guide channels to beproduced independently of the backrest and secured thereto.

The head support can be fixed to the backrest by means of an arrestingdevice which is provided on the head support and which has a resilientretaining member. In that case, the arresting device can be provided forstepless or for stepwise adjustment in respect of height of the headsupport relative to the backrest. In the latter case involving stepwiseadjustability in respect of height of the head support relative to thebackrest, the backrest can be provided at its rear side with retainingopenings which are spaced from each other in the heightwise directionand which are adapted in respect of shape to the resilient retainingmember. The retaining openings and the resilient retaining member inthat case may be of a ratchet-like configuration or may co-operate inratchet-like manner, in such a way that it is indeed possible for thehead support to be raised without actuating the arresting device, but itis not possible, without actuating the arresting device, for the headsupport to be displaced downwardly on the backrest.

It has proven to be desirable if the arresting device has a two-armedlever assembly which is pivotable about a central pivot axis between anarresting position and a release position, wherein provided at the endportion of the one lever arm of the lever assembly is the retainingmember and provided at the end portion of the second lever arm is anactuating handle which is accessible and actuatable through a hole inthe central portion of the head support from the rear, the pivot axis isformed by a transverse rib which is integrally connected to the leverassembly and which is supported in a transverse groove or channelprovided at the front side of the central portion of the head supportand spaced from the hole for the actuating handle, and a spring elementis provided between the lever assembly and the central portion of thehead support.

In this case, the transverse rib forming the pivot axis of the arrestingdevice can be of a transverse dimension which is adapted to thetransverse dimension of the actuating handle, and it can be connected tothe actuating handle by lateral connecting limbs so that the actuatinghandle, the transverse rib and the two lateral connecting limbs define aframe which embraces a projection in the central portion of the headsupport, the projection being defined by the transverse channel and twolateral limb grooves which open into the hole in the central portion ofthe head support. Such a configuration with the above-mentionedprojection in the central portion of the head support and theconfiguration of the arresting device with a frame embracing saidprojection make it easily possible for the arresting device to beaccurately positioned on the central portion of the head support. Thatis desirable from points of view of assembly and fitting. In addition itis desirable if the central portion of the head support is formed with atransverse opening spaced from the transverse channel for the transverserib, and a longitudinal opening connecting the transverse channel to thetransverse opening, wherein in the release position of the actuatinghandle the longitudinal opening is provided to receive a correspondingportion of the first lever arm of the lever assembly and the transverseopening is provided to receive the retaining member formed by atransverse bar. That makes it possible to provide for a compactconfiguration for the central portion of the head support, wherein theretaining member can be disposed without any difficulty and inaccurately positioned relationship between the head support and thebackrest.

The first lever arm of the two-armed lever assembly of the arrestingdevice of the child's seat according to the invention is preferablyformed between the pivot axis transverse rib and the transverse barforming the retaining member with a blind hole which is provided forfixing the one end portion of the spring element. That spring element isdesirably a compression coil spring. The compression coil spring isfixed with its one end portion in the last-mentioned blind hole.Thereafter the arresting device can then be positioned in accuratelyfitting relationship on the central portion. The head support can thenbe mounted to the backrest.

In accordance with the invention the longitudinal opening in the centralportion of the head support can be formed with a second blind hole whichis provided for fixing the second end portion of the spring element.That therefore provides for accurately defined fixing of the springelement overall between the arresting device and the central portion ofthe head support of the child's seat according to the invention.

In order in the assembled condition of the child's seat, that is to saywhen the head support is mounted to the backrest, to be able to move thearresting device from its normal rest or arresting position into therelease position, which is effected by a pivotal movement of thearresting device about its pivot axis, it is preferred if the two-armedlever assembly is formed with a sliding back at the side which isopposite to the transverse rib forming the pivot axis. That sliding backforms a support means about which the actuating handle is pivotable fromthe arresting position into the release position. In this case, at thesame time the spring element is mechanically stressed between thecentral portion of the head support and the arresting device. When theactuating handle is released again, the spring element can be relievedof stress, in which case the arresting device is automatically displacedfrom the release position into the arresting position again.

In order to prevent the head support from tilting laterally in relationto the backrest, the central portion of the head support can be providedat its front side with at least one guide rib projecting into alongitudinal channel which is provided at the rear side of the backrestand towards which the retaining member of the arresting device is urgedby means of the spring element in the normal arresting position. It ispreferable if the central portion of the head support, at its frontside, has two mutually spaced guide ribs, with the arresting devicebeing provided between the two guide ribs.

Stepwise displacement of the head support in relation to the backrest ispossible if the longitudinal channel is formed with mutually spacedtransverse channels into which the retaining member of the arrestingdevice can be urged by means of the spring element in the normalarresting position. As already mentioned hereinbefore, theabove-mentioned transverse channels and the resiliently disposedretaining member of the arresting device can be of a ratchet-likeconfiguration in such a way that it is in fact possible for the headsupport to be raised without actuating the arresting device, but that,without actuating the arresting device from the arresting position intothe release position, it is not possible for the head support to bedisplaced downwardly on the backrest.

In order to prevent the head support from unintentionally coming awayfrom the backrest upon adjustment in respect of height, the longitudinalchannel provided at the rear side of the backrest can be closed at itsupper end by means of a closure element. That closure element can be forexample a closure plug which can be screwed fast to the upper end of thelongitudinal channel.

It can be desirable in the case of the child's seat according to theinvention if the side support portions are formed with hook-shapedopenings for a diagonal vehicle belt.

Further details will be apparent from the following description of anembodiment of the child's seat according to the invention for vehicles,as shown in the drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective side view of the child's seat viewing inclinedlyfrom above,

FIG. 2 is a front view of the child's seat as shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a front view similar to FIG. 2 of the child's seat, whereinthe head support is shown in solid thick lines in the lowered positionas also shown in FIG. 2, and is shown in thinner lines in a raisedposition,

FIG. 4 is a view in longitudinal section illustrating a part of thebackrest and a part of the central portion of the head support togetherwith the arresting device disposed therebetween,

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing the part of the centralportion of the head support alone,

FIG. 6 is a view of the part of the central portion of the head supportviewing in the direction of the arrows VI—VI in FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 is a sectional view similar to FIGS. 4 and 5 showing a part ofthe central portion of the head support in combination with thearresting device,

FIG. 8 is a view of the part of the central portion of the head supportin combination with the arresting device viewing in the direction of thearrows VIII—VIII in FIG. 7, and

FIG. 9 shows a part of the backrest viewing on to the longitudinalchannel thereof and the mutually spaced transverse channels.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the child's seat 10 for vehicles, having aseat portion 12 and a backrest 14 which extends upwardly away from theseat portion 12. The seat portion 12 and the backrest 14 can be of aone-part or two-part configuration and suitably connected together. Theseat portion 12 has side supports 16 and the backrest 14 has sidesupports 18. Projecting upwardly beyond the side supports 18, thebackrest 14 is provided with a guide portion 20 which forms acorresponding part of the backrest 14 and along which a head support 22is adjustable in respect of height, in a play-free manner. The headsupport 22 is provided with an arresting device 24, by means of whichthe head support 22 can be arrested in the respectively desired positionin respect of height.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration of the child's seat 10 in which the headsupport 22 is adjustable stepwise in respect of height. For thatpurpose, the guide portion 20 of the backrest 14 is formed at the rearside thereof with mutually spaced retaining or detent openings 26 intowhich a resilient or detent member (not shown) of the arresting device22 can latchingly engage. It will be appreciated that the arrestingdevice 24 can also be designed in such a way that the head support 22 issteplessly adjustable in respect of height in relation to the backrest14 or in relation to the guide portion 20 of the backrest 14.

The head support 22 has two side support portions 28 and a centralportion 30 which connects the two side support portions 28 together.With its central portion 30, the head support 22 extends over the rearside of the backrest 14 or the guide portion 20 of the backrest 14, atwhich the above-mentioned retaining openings 26 are also provided.

The arresting device 24 is provided on the central portion 30 of thehead support 22, and is described in greater detail hereinafter withreference to FIGS. 4 through 9.

For play-free adjustment in respect of height of the head support 22along the guide portion 20 of the backrest 14, the head support 22 isprovided with two mutually spaced lateral clamping members 32 which areprovided in the transitional region between the central portion 30 andthe respective side support portion 28 of the head support at the frontside thereof, as can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3. For play-free linearguidance of the head support 22 in relation to the guide portion 20 ofthe backrest 14, the guide portion 20 of the backrest 14 is formed atits front side, in the proximity of its two lateral edges 34, with arespective guide groove or channel 36. The two guide channels 36consequently form a guide device for the head support 22. The guidechannels 36 extend in mutually parallel relationship, as can be seenfrom FIGS. 2 and 3, and the clamping members 32 of the head support 22engage into the guide channels 36 in positively locking relationship,that is to say in a play-free manner, so that the head support 22 isadjustable in respect of height in play-free manner in relation to theguide portion 20 of the backrest 14. This is indicated in FIG. 3.

The side support portions 28 of the head support 22 are formed withhook-shaped openings 38 which serve to receive a diagonal belt of athree-point safety belt which is specifically mounted to the vehicle.

The seat portion 12 and the backrest 14 are usually provided with adecorative cover which also covers the guide portion 20 of the backrest14 at the front side thereof laterally as far as the guide channels 36.A further decorative cover extends over the head support 22 between thetwo side support portions 28 on the front side of the guide portion 20.That arrangement avoids the existence of a cover-free region on thechild's seat 10, independently of the respective heightwise setting ofthe head support 22. That represents a considerable advantage, fromdecorative points of view. A quite considerable advantage of the child'sseat 10 is also that its stability in respect of shape is absolutelyindependent of the respective heightwise setting of the head support 22.

FIG. 4 is a view in longitudinal section showing a part of the backrest14, the central portion 30 of the head support 22 and the arrestingdevice 24 which is between the backrest 14 and the head support 22. Atits rear side 40 which is towards the central portion 30 of the headsupport 22, the backrest 14 is provided with a longitudinal groove orchannel 42 (see also FIG. 1) and retaining openings or transverse grooveor channels 26 which cross the longitudinal channel 42. The longitudinalchannel 42 may be closed at its upper end by a removable closure element29 (see FIG. 9).

The central portion 30 of the head support 22 has a hole 44 (see alsoFIG. 1) from which the arresting device 24 projects with an actuatinghandle 46, and is actuable therewith. At its front side 48 which istowards the backrest 14, the central portion 30 of the head support 22,at a spacing from the hole 44, is provided with a transverse channel 50,while at a spacing from the transverse channel 50, it is also providedwith a transverse opening 52.

As can also be seen from FIGS. 5 and 6, the transverse opening 52 andthe transverse channel 50 are connected together by a longitudinalopening 54.

A guide rib 56 projects from the front side 48 of the central portion 30of the head support 22, above the hole 44, while a second guide rib 58projects from the front side 48, beneath the transverse opening 52. Theguide ribs 56 and 58 extend into the longitudinal channel 42 at the rearside of the backrest 14 and serve for laterally guiding the head support22 in relation to the backrest 14.

As FIGS. 7 and 8 also clearly show, the arresting device 24 has atwo-armed lever assembly 60 with a pivot axis 64 formed by a transverserib 62. The transverse rib 62 is supported in the transverse channel 50.The lever assembly 60 has a first lever arm 66 and a second lever arm68, between which the above-mentioned pivot axis 64 is disposed.Provided at the end portion of the first lever arm 66, which is remotefrom the pivot axis 64, is a retaining or detent member 70 which isformed by a transverse bar 72. The actuating handle 46 is provided atthe end portion of the second lever arm 68, which is remote from thepivot axis 64. The actuating handle 46 and the transverse rib 62 of thearresting device 24 are integrally connected together by lateralconnecting limbs 74 (see in particular FIG. 8). The actuating handle 46,the transverse rib 62 and the two lateral connecting limbs 74 thusdefine a frame 76 which embraces a projection 80 in the central portion30 of the head support 72, the projection 80 being defined by thetransverse channel 50 and two lateral grooves 78 which open into thehole 44 in the central portion 30 of the head support 22. Thus, uponassembly of the head support 22 and the backrest 14, the arrestingdevice 24 can be easily mounted in an accurately defined relationship onthe projection 80.

In opposite relationship to the transverse rib 62, the two-armed leverassembly 60 is formed with a curved sliding back 82 which in theassembled condition bears against the bottom 84 of the longitudinalchannel 42 (see FIG. 4) and which jointly with the transverse rib 62forms the pivot axis 64 of the arresting device 24.

Provided between the central portion 30 of the head support 22 and thefirst lever arm 64 of the two-armed lever assembly 60 is a springelement 86 formed by a compression coil spring. For accurately definedpositioning of the spring element 86, the central portion 30 of the headsupport 22, in the region of the longitudinal opening 54, is providedwith a blind hole 88 while the first lever arm 66 of the two-armed leverassembly 60 of the arresting device 24, at its side towards the centralportion 30 of the head support 22, is provided with a blind hole 90. Thesecond blind hole 90 is of dimensions such that upon assembly thecorresponding end portion of the spring element 86 is held fast in theblind hole 90.

The same details are identified in each of FIGS. 1 through 9 by the samereference numerals so that there is no need for all details to bedescribed in detail in connection with all of those Figures.

What is claimed is:
 1. A child's seat for motor vehicles, having a seatportion (12), a backrest (14) having a rear and a head support (22)which has two side support portions (28) and a central portion (30)connecting the two side support portions (28), wherein the position ofthe head support in relation to the backrest (14) is adjustable, andwherein the backrest has a guide device for adjusting the height of thehead support, characterised in that the head support (22) extends withits central portion (30) over the rear of the backrest (14) and that thehead support (22) has two mutually spaced clamping members (32) whichare provided in a transitional region between the central portion (30)and the respective side support portion (28) at a front side (48) of thehead support (22) and are in engagement with the guide device of thebackrest.
 2. A child's seat as set forth in claim 1 characterised inthat the backrest (14) is provided at its front side along two sideedges (34) thereof with respective guide channels (36) which extend inmutually parallel relationship, forming the guide device, and which theclamping members (32) of the head support (22) engage.
 3. A child's seatas set forth in claim 1 characterised in that the head support (22) canbe fixed to the backrest (14) by means of an arresting device (24) whichis provided on the head support (22) and which has a resilient retainingmember (70).
 4. A child's seat as set forth in claim 3 characterised inthat the arresting device (24) is provided for incrementally adjustingthe height of the head support (22) relative to the backrest (14).
 5. Achild's seat as set forth in claim 3 characterised in that the arrestingdevice (24) is provided for stepwise adjustment in respect of height ofthe head support (22) relative to the backrest (14).
 6. A child's seatas set forth in claim 5 characterised in that proximate its rear thebackrest (14) has retaining openings or tranverse channels (26) whichare spaced from each other in the heightwise direction and which areshaped for releasably engaging the resilient retaining member (70).
 7. Achild's seat as set forth in claim 3 characterised in that the arrestingdevice (24) has a two-armed lever assembly (60) which is pivotable abouta central pivot axis (64) between an arresting position and a releaseposition, wherein provided at an end portion of one lever arm (66) ofthe lever assembly (60) is the retaining member (70) and provided at anend portion of the second lever arm (68) is an actuating handle (46)which is accessible and actuable through a hole (44) in the centralportion (30) of the head support (22) from the rear, the pivot axis (64)is formed by a transverse rib (62) which is integrally connected to thelever assembly (60) and which is supported in a transverse channel (50)provided at the front side (48) of the central portion (30) of the headsupport (22) and spaced from the hole (44) for the actuating handle(46), and provided between the lever assembly (60) and the centralportion (30) of the head support (22) is a spring element (86).
 8. Achild's seat as set forth in claim 7 characterised in that thetransverse rib (62) is of a transverse dimension adapted to thetransverse dimension of the actuating handle (46) and is connected tothe actuating handle (46) by lateral connecting limbs (74) so that theactuating handle (46), the transverse rib (62) and the two lateralconnecting limbs (74) define a frame (76) embracing a projection (80) inthe central portion (30) of the head support (22), the projection beingdefined by the transverse channel (50) and two lateral limb grooves (78)which open into the hole (44) in the central portion (30) of the headsupport (22).
 9. A child's seat as set forth in claim 7 characterised inthat the central portion (30) of the head support (22) is formed with atransverse opening (52) spaced from the transverse channel (50) for thetransverse rib (72), and with a longitudinal opening (54) connecting thetransverse channel (50) to the transverse opening (52), wherein in therelease position of the actuating handle (46) the longitudinal opening(54) is provided for receiving a corresponding portion of the firstlever arm (66) of the lever assembly (60) and the transverse opening(52) is provided for receiving the retaining member (70) formed by atransverse bar (72).
 10. A child's seat as set forth in claim 9characterised in that the first lever arm (68) is formed between thetransverse rib (62) and the transverse bar (72) forming the retainingmember (70) with a blind hole (90) which is provided for fixing the oneend portion of the spring element (86).
 11. A child's seat as set forthin claim 9 characterised in that the longitudinal opening (54) isprovided with a second blind hole (88) which is provided for fixing thesecond end portion of the spring element (86).
 12. A child's seat as setforth in claim 7 characterised in that the two-armed lever assembly (60)is formed at the side opposite to the transverse rib (62) with a pivotaxis sliding back (82).
 13. A child's seat as set forth in claim 7characterised in that the central portion (30) of the head support (22)is provided at its front side (48) with at least one guide groove (56,58) projecting into a longitudinal channel (42) which is provided at therear side (40) of the backrest (14) and towards which the retainingmember (70) of the arresting device (24) is urged in the normalarresting position by means of the spring element (86).
 14. A child'sseat as set forth in claim 13 characterised in that the longitudinalchannel (42) is provided with spaced-apart transverse channels (26) intowhich the retaining member (70) is urged in the normal arrestingposition by means of the spring element (86).
 15. A child's seat as setforth in claim 13 characterised in that the longitudinal channel (42) isclosed at the upper end by means of a removable closure element.
 16. Achild's seat as set forth in claim 1 characterised in that the sidesupport portions (28) of the head support (22) are formed withhook-shaped openings (38) for a vehicle diagonal belt.